Reference may be made to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. of interest: 3,798,799; 3,882,561 and 4,083,127, all assigned to the same assignee as herein.
In ankle-covering boots for sports footwear, such as custom fitted ski boots and ice skates, it is desired to have the boot and its components adapted to surround and be contoured to custom-fit the wearer's foot. In such cases, the boot is to provide a support function for the wearer's foot and ankle and enable firm contact to be maintained between the foot and the outer shell of the ski boot.
Reference may be made to the aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,798,799 and 3,882,561 wherein the custom fitting operation is disclosed. The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,127 additionally discloses the use of pressure-compensating fitting material used as fitting pads in conjunction with ski boots to maintain a snug or firm fitting relationship with the skier's foot during use to provide protection or comfort by cushioning against pressure, impact or shock. Additionally, in view of the required substantially non-compressable stiff plastic material forming the shell of such boots, means may be provided on the boot to achieve adjustment in the normal boot stiffness, such adjustment being shown for instance in U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,127.
It is also desired to provide a custom fitted ankle-covering boot with means for adjusting the upper boot portion in the area between the wearer's ankle and leg shins so as to conform to his lower leg size. While the lower stiff boot shell portion covering the foot and ankle area may contain the aforementioned adjustment for stiffness, the boot portion above the lower shell, in the area of the lower leg shins, is more flexible and normally not adjustable in size. Thus, it is desired to provide a means for adjusting this boot portion so as to enable a wearer to obtain a better custom fit and accommodate any variations in foot and lower leg sizes.